Vietnam Post Address Validation

“Vietnam Post,” the country’s national postal service, was established in 1951. Starting with traditional mailing services, today, the VN Post has launched its Digital Transformation Center to digitalize its economy and postal operations. The company delivered around 215.3 million mailpieces and 1.2 billion parcels in 2021. Misdeliveries, delays, or lost mail are common when using the vast infrastructure of Vietnam Post.

How does the postal service deliverability avoid these issues? Can businesses validate postal addresses before dispatching mail? Vietnam Post has recently developed a digital system called the Vpostcode to help the public convert addresses into 12-digit alphanumeric codes. It helps validate the entire address against the country’s official database to improve deliverability. But how it works? Does it have a better alternative? This blog is the perfect read to learn about Vietnam Post address validation works, a better alternative, and the Vietnamese address format.

Key Takeaways 

• Vietnam Post uses its Vpostcode system to validate postal addresses, improving deliverability and location intelligence. 
• Vpostcode uses 12-digit alphanumeric characters to pinpoint addresses on a digital map. 
• The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) established a national postal code to support its address validation efforts. 
• Vietnam Post is updating and enriching its address databases to make the Vpostcode system successful. 
• Individuals and businesses can use Vietnam Post’s real-time shipment tracker to monitor the live status. 
• Vietnamese rural areas may not have house numbers or street names. 
• Some addresses may even have letters, slashes, and even words with numbers. 
• Vietnam has shifted from a six-digit to a five-digit postal code system. 
• Many rural addresses in Vietnam are still absent in the Vpostcode system.

You Are Using an Incorrect or Incomplete Address 

Individuals and businesses might make mistakes while writing a Vietnamese address. There are multiple components in the address line. These addresses often have alley numbers, ward names, and district names. Even a minute mistake might confuse the Vietnam Post employees while attempting to make a delivery. Proper address validation with the Vpostcode system is necessary to avoid delays, failures, or return mail. 

The Address is in a Rural Area 

The general Vietnamese address format applies to the entire country, but it doesn’t mean you will find all houses using the same pattern. There’s a vast difference between urban and rural addresses in Vietnam. Rural areas in the country may not have house numbers or street names, complicating the address-writing process. The postal workers also need more time to deliver to these locations. 

Invalid Postal Code 

The country has switched from a six-digit postal code system to a five-digit code. This transition marked a critical step in improving the efficiency of Vietnam Post’s services. However, users often confuse the two systems and write an invalid postal code in their mail or packages. As a result, postal workers cannot quickly rectify these mistakes and reroute deliveries. 

Inconsistencies With Slashes or Letters in the Address Format 

Vietnamese addresses do not always have a whole number. You might face letters, slashes, and even words with numbers. A slash shows the address is present in an alley. Consecutive houses might share the same number with a letter (A, B, C, D, F) following it. Users need considerable work to update such addresses. These deficiencies may lead to delivery failure or delays, compromising customer satisfaction. 

The Recipient was Absent or Moved to a New Address  

It could be the most unfortunate event when sending mail or packages. Vietnam Post maintains an address database but doesn’t update it regularly. The lack of a change of address in the Vpostcode system can make your mail deliverable. Their postal workers might attempt to deliver to the old address where the recipient can’t be found. However, there’s a chance that your recipient is absent at the address during the delivery attempt. 

Also Read: Check Best International Address Verification API

• Abbreviations: Vietnam Post uses multiple abbreviations for Vietnamese address elements, including “Hộp thư” for Post Office Box, “Đường” for street, and “No.” for number. 
• Language: Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. Writing addresses in Vietnamese domestic mail is standard, but English is acceptable for international mail. 
• Alignment: All Vietnamese addresses are left-aligned to support easy comprehension and postal processing. 
• Rural vs. Urban Addressing: Vietnamese cities have properly structured formats, while rural areas may not have numbers or street names. Addresses in rural areas often rely on landmarks for reference. 
• Postal Codes: Initially, Vietnam had a six-digit postal code system, which was switched to five digits in 2018 to simplify addressing. The first two digits represent the province or municipality, the third and fourth highlight the district, and the last digit specifies the sub-district or commune. 

Vietnamese addresses are simple to write, with only four lines. Begin by writing the recipient’s full name with the appropriate title. The following line mentions the building number and street name; separate them using a comma. Next, provide the ward or district and the five-digit postal code on the same line. 

Vietnamese authorities divide its provinces into second-level administrative units, such as provinces, towns, districts, or wards. In the last line, use QAT, a shortened version of Vietnam, for international mail. You need to mention the apartment number, floor, block number, and building name for apartment buildings. 

Vietnamese street names are often based on historical figures, events, dates, etc. It means cities, districts, and provinces might have duplicate street names. You should pay more attention to the ward and districts to distinguish between the two locations. 

Why Are There Odd and Even Numbers in the Address? 

Vietnamese addresses often have odd and even numbers to help spot which side of the street the location is on. If you stand in the street, one side will only have odd-numbered houses, while the other will have houses with even numbers. However, you need to stand on the corresponding side of the street to locate an address. 

Here is what the format should look like: 

Your sample address would look like this: 

Limited Adoption in the Region 

The Vpostcode system is relatively new in Vietnam. It still needs to cover a large number of addresses, especially in the country’s rural areas. The global COVID-19 pandemic was a massive roadblock to the project’s digitization. The system may not be the most accurate in covering every regional address. Businesses looking for the best deliverability or location intelligence should look for better third-party alternatives using multiple credible data sources. 

Limited Accuracy 

Vietnam Post’s Vpostcode system provides geocoded addresses you can pinpoint on a digital map. However, the system’s slow periodic updates might cause challenges. It also won’t give Vietnamese addresses the best accuracy and coverage, so you can’t trust the solution 100% to send shipments, run marketing campaigns, or perform business intelligence. 

No Integrations With Third-Party Systems 

Vietnam Post has not provided valuable APIs for businesses to set custom workflows. Businesses with CRM systems and logistics software need custom solutions to integrate Vpostcode, which reduces efficiency and speed. These integration challenges are unwelcome when you have critical tasks to handle. 

Lack of Premise Level Data 

Vietnamese addresses are already quite complex for a layman to understand. Businesses expecting secondary address data are out of luck with the Vpostcode system. It doesn’t provide unit indicators like “floor,” “unit,” “building,” etc. These additional details are necessary when you desire the best deliverability for sensitive mail or packages. Sadly, Vietnam Post won’t help you enrich the address data for superior location intelligence. 

Dependency on the Vietnam Post 

Vietnam Post and the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) control the Vpostcode system and its coverage. Being a public entity, the development and updates depend entirely on the country’s current government. Businesses expecting faster address updates and tech support don’t get the best performance or service. 

 Also Read: Address Checker: Boost Accuracy & Deliverability

As you’ve read, Vietnam Post’s Vpostcode is a remarkable step towards digital transformation, but is still in its infancy. The system might be helpful for the general public, government organizations, and businesses, but it still lacks complete coverage of the country. Businesses can’t handle high-volume address data without native integrations for their third-party tools. 

All these factors may negatively impact mail deliverability, customer satisfaction, and a company’s resource management. PostGrid’s Address Validation API is a complete solution for businesses of any scale to validate, standardize, geocode, and cleanse address data accurately. 

PostGrid relies on multiple credible sources instead of only the Vietnam Post’s official address database. It offers native integrations for your website, mobile application, CRM system, and more to provide real-time validation and define custom workflows. PostGrid is a better alternative to the Vpostcode system, offering greater flexibility, scalability, and accuracy. 

Talk to our sales team to learn how we can validate and standardize high-volume international addresses in real-time with the highest accuracy.